


I'd Live For You

by deathbysandblk



Category: MindCrack RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-11
Updated: 2017-07-11
Packaged: 2018-11-30 23:17:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11473737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deathbysandblk/pseuds/deathbysandblk
Summary: Etho gets kidnapped and Nebris desperately tries to find him with assistance of the local police.





	I'd Live For You

It was getting to be the time of day Nebris liked the most: the time when all of his work was done and he could go home to the love of his life. It was a Friday too which made it all that much better. Neither he nor Etho had plans this weekend so he suspected it would be a very calm and relaxing one. 

The car ride always felt long to Nebris, even though his work was only 15 minutes away from where he lived, but today, it went by pretty quickly.

Seeing Etho’s car parked outside brought a huge smile to his face. He never tired of seeing Etho and when they were apart, he always just wanted to be back with him, cuddling up next to him, not a care in the world. It was nice that was still the case after five years of being together. Sure, there were disputes here and there and occasionally, things got aggressive, but only occasionally, because the two couldn’t stay angry at each other for long. At first, this annoyed Nebris, the ever-stubborn, but he realized having Etho was more important than being right and even his pride-but he didn’t admit that and will firmly deny it if ever called out on it. 

He walked into their house and set his stuff down. Expecting to see Etho on the couch, he became confused when he discovered he wasn’t there. 

“Etho?” he called out, thinking maybe he was in the bedroom.

No response. He walked into the bedroom and discovered his love wasn’t in there either. The bathroom was empty as well. 

Nebris didn’t know what to think exactly. Etho’s car was out front, so he had been here, that much was certainly true. Maybe he had just gone on a walk? But wouldn’t he text him and let him know if that were the case? He decided Etho had probably just run an errand and would be back soon. He had probably just forgotten to text him, right? No need to panic…

It got to be the time they usually ate dinner together and Etho still wasn’t back. Nebris sadly and confusedly made dinner for himself then decided to call him. 

“Hey, Etho, it’s Nebris. I got home from work to discover you weren’t here and still aren’t. Just call me when you get this, okay? I love you.”

Dinner finished, dishes washed, Nebris sat down to watch some TV, hoping Etho would arrive home safe and sound any moment and getting a little more worried with each passing minute that did not happen. 

Nebris was starting to get tired, but he didn’t feel right going to bed when he had no idea where Etho was. It had been several hours now and he was really starting to get worried. To put himself a little more at ease, he gave Etho another call and left another voicemail.

“Etho, honey, I’m really starting to get worried about you. Please call me back and let me know that you are safe. Please. I love you.”

Nebris hung up the phone and was about ready to head to bed, alone, when he noticed something unusual on one of the living room chairs. Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be...blood? Nebris shuddered upon making this discovery. Had something bad happened to Etho? It was serious now...he had to involve the police. 

“9-1-1, what’s your emergency?”

“I haven’t seen my boyfriend since 6:30 this morning. I saw him off to work and then at around 5:45 pm, I arrived home to see his car in the driveway, but he wasn’t here. He never came home. I realize usually one waits 24 hours to report a missing person, but there’s a stain on one of my living room chairs that looks an awful lot like blood and I think something has happened to him.”

“Okay, sir, where do you live? I’ll send someone over to investigate.”

“Thank you.”

Nebris was lost in his jumping-to-the-worst thoughts when there was a sharp knock on the door. Nebris jumped up to open the door and show the investigator exactly where the stain was. Nebris watched with equal parts anxiety and fascination as the policeman examined the stain and did some tests to determine if it was truly blood. After a few moments, the policeman looked up and said,

“It’s definitely blood. You were right to call. Has anything else been disturbed in the house?”

“No, I don’t believe so.”

“Okay, well, if you don’t mind, I’m gonna bring in some back-up so we can do a thorough investigation. Do you mind staying with a friend or something?”

“Yeah, I can stay at my friend’s house.”

“Also, one more thing, we need to take this cushion in to determine exactly whose blood this is.”

“Okay, go right ahead. Do whatever you need to do.”

“Let me know if you hear from him at all, okay? Here’s my card.”

“Thanks.”

Nebris gathered a few things and stepped onto the porch to call Pakratt. He knew it was late and he might be waking him up, but he hoped once he heard why he was calling, he wouldn’t be as annoyed with him. 

“Hullo?”

“Hi, Pakratt, I’m sorry to be calling so late, but the police are at my house and I need somewhere to stay at for the night, maybe longer.”

“Wait, what? Nebris, did you say the police are at your house?! Why? What’s going on? Come right over. Of course you can stay here for the night or more!”

“I’ll explain when I get there.”

“Okay, see you soon.”

Nebris drove to Pakratt’s house pretty quickly and when he got out of his car and walked up to the door, about to knock, it opened up for him right away. Nebris felt guilty looking at how tired Pakratt looked and said,

“I’m so sorry to call you so late. I just didn’t know who else to turn to.”

Pakratt sat down and gestured for Nebris to do the same. 

“What happened?”

This whole time Nebris had managed to keep his cool, but when he told Pakratt, he just lost it. 

“What if something really bad happened to him, Pakratt?” he asked between sobs. 

“I really hope that’s not the case, Nebris! He’ll show up, I’m sure of it! You know Etho, he can handle anything!”

That only made Nebris sob harder. 

“Who would do something to hurt him? And why? He’s so sweet and wonderful, he doesn’t deserve this!”

“I have faith that everything will be okay, Nebris. But, you cry as much as you need to. I’m here for you.”

***

It had been a few days, and Pakratt had graciously let Nebris stay there during that time, when Nebris got a phone call.

“Is this Nebris?”

“Yes it is.”

“The tests came back for the blood sample. It was definitely Etho’s.”

“So what happens now?”

“We have our best staff on this case, Nebris. Your house is cleared if you want to come back, but do let us know if you hear anything.”

“I will. Thanks,” said Nebris, somewhat half-heartedly. 

Nebris filled Pakratt in and Pakratt said,

“You shouldn’t go home. You shouldn’t be alone during this time, you can stay here, I insist.”

“Thank you, Pak. You’ve been so nice and I really appreciate it.”

“Of course. You’re like family to me, Nebs.”

It had been a week since Etho went missing. Nebris tried to return to a “normal” schedule, well as normal as a schedule could be for someone who’s everything had gone missing.   
Nebris got home from work and even though it was Friday, he got no joy from that fact, still not having any idea where his Etho was. 

He had just settled in to take a soak in the tub when his phone dinged. He jumped up and gasped, realizing that it had been the special text tone he set for Etho. The relief he felt was brief, for when he looked at his phone, he dropped it and screamed. 

Pakratt knocked on the door.

“Nebris?! Nebris, what happened? Are you okay?”

Nebris was in shock. What he had seen on his phone was so disturbing. The text he received had actually been a picture of Etho, all tied up and beaten. There was no message attached, just that picture. 

He was overcome with an overwhelming feeling of nausea and he moved toward the toilet, not wanting to get his vomit all over the floor. 

“Nebris, I’m coming in,” said Pakratt.

Nebris looked blankly at Pakratt and then sat staring at the wall, feeling so helpless and disturbed.

“Nebs? What happened?”

All Nebris could do was point to his phone and then he returned to staring at the wall. 

“Oh goodness. This is awful! Nebris, we need to get you dressed so we can show this to the police!”

It took some prodding, but Pakratt finally got Nebris to get dressed. He decided Nebris was in no state to drive and that he would drive him to the police station. 

When they arrived at the police station, Nebris had shifted from shocked and disturbed to outraged. He was so mad at whomever it is that had taken his Etho from him and had hurt him.

“Can I help you?” asked someone at the front desk.

“Yes, I would like to speak to Detective Boulderfist. He’s the head guy on the   
Etho Slab case.”

“Oh yes, of course. Let me just page him.”

Boulderfist didn’t take too long to arrive.

“I have new information for you, Detective.” Nebris said as he showed Boulderfist the picture. “I know it doesn’t tell us much of anything, but-”

“No, I’m glad you brought this to me, Nebris. We can zoom in on the picture and see if we get any ideas of where he is being held. I’m really sorry you were sent that though, I can imagine it was really shocking.”

“I’m over my shock and am more angry now.”

“Understandable. If anyone hurt my wife like that, I’d kill them, not that I’m suggesting you do that, seeing as how that’s illegal and everything.”

Nebris laughed dryly and then he and Pakratt headed back to Pakratt’s house. 

***

Nebris was growing impatient. He had handed the photo over to the cops 3 days ago and they were no closer to figuring out where Etho was being held or even who it was who was holding him. Mostly Nebris was obsessed with discovering who it was and what their motive was. 

Nebris had been asleep maybe half an hour when he heard his phone go off. He sat up, turned on the lamp on the bedside table by the guest bed he had been sleeping in, and then he took a deep breath. Whatever this message was, it was almost certainly going to be worse than the first one. He took a look and had to rush to the toilet. He was right. It was worse. Much worse. Because not only had this fucker put a giant gash on Etho’s left cheek, he had written a message this time. It said, “Like what you see? There’s more where this came from.” 

He must’ve been pretty loud or Pakratt had super sensitive ears because Pakratt came into the bathroom. At least this time Nebris was fully clothed. 

“Another one?” asked Pakratt.

“Yes, Pak, it’s so much worse.”

Pakratt took a look at the picture and shuddered. “We should get this to Detective Boulderfist right away.”

“Yeah, like it will do anything.”

“Hey, I know you’re worried, but they’re doing their best.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

They didn’t stay very long at the police station since it was getting late, but when they both got back to Pakratt’s, neither of them felt much like sleeping.

“Hey, Nebs?”

“Yes, Pak?” 

“I, uh, I have to go out of town on business this weekend.Will you be okay alone? Cuz I can call Arkas-”

“I don’t need a babysitter, Pak. Don’t call Arkas, or anyone for that matter. I’ll be fine. It’s only for a couple days and maybe they’ll know something by then.”

“True. Keep your head up, Nebs.”

“I’m trying, Pak, but it’s just so hard.”

“I can’t even imagine.:

The rest of the week passed, without having heard anything, much to Nebris’s chagrin.

Pakratt left very early Saturday morning. Nebris was not up that early, but he trusted Pakratt go to where he needed to go. Nebris woke in the afternoon, not entirely sure what to do with the rest of his day. He decided he would play some Civilization to keep his mind occupied. It wouldn’t do him any good to think about the person who had taken Etho from him, it would only serve to make him angry and there wasn’t much he could do anyway because the police were no closer to discovering where Etho was or who had him. 

It was a little past dinner time when Nebris’s phone rang. Expecting it to be Pakratt calling to check up on him, he answered.

“N-nebs?”

Nebris stopped everything he was doing, not knowing what to think, do, or say. He realized he should say something because he didn’t know how long he would still have an opportunity to do so. 

“Etho? Where are you? Are you okay? Are you badly hurt?”

“N-nebs, I don’t have much time,” Etho said in a hoarse whisper that was very hard to understand. “He’ll be back any minute. I-I’m being kept downtown in a storage room, I, I think it’s number 24. Please hurry.”

Nebris started to tell Etho how much he loved him, but before he could, the line dropped, as did Nebris’s stomach. 

He had to hurry, he had to get to Etho before his captor did anything worse to him than he already had. He didn’t have time to go to the police, Etho was too important to him, he just had to get there as quickly as he could. He knew Boulderfist would be upset with him for going after the bastard that had taken Etho by himself, but he had to know why and he had to take action. 

He grabbed his keys and headed downtown. Once he arrived to the storage rooms, he searched frantically for number 24. When he stumbled upon it, he was surprised to find it...open?  
He approached it quietly, one step at a time. In as quiet a voice as he could muster, he asked,

“...Etho?”

He wandered further into the dark, seemingly abandoned storage room. Thinking Etho had told him the wrong number, he turned to leave and continue his search when the door was slammed shut.   
Now in complete darkness, Nebris was starting to feel scared. What was happening?

“Hello, Nebris, we’ve been waiting for you.”

When the voice spoke, dim lights came on, just enough for Nebris to be able to see what was in front of him. 

“W-who are you? Why have you done this?”

“Nebris, you’re being very rude. Don’t you want to greet your boy toy?” the man asked condescendingly. 

The man’s words reminded Nebris of why he had come here in the first place: Etho. Turning his head to the side, he finally got a look at his love and a part of him wished he hadn’t. Etho looked awful. He was covered in cuts and bruises from head to toe. He had what appeared to be a giant bump on his head and it looked like his bindings were so tight, they were cutting off the circulation in his arms. 

Nebris took a step forward toward Etho and once again, the man spoke,

“Take one step closer to him and you’ll get to watch as I kill him slowly and painfully.”

Nebris stayed right where he was. He had to rescue Etho, but he had to be smart about it. There was no way he was going to be responsible for his love’s death. He couldn’t bear to think of that. 

Etho looked at him, and with tears in his eyes, said,

“I’m s-so s-sorry, Nebris. H-he m-made me call you. H-he h-had a g-gun to m-my h-head. I w-was s-so s-s-s-scared-”

“Enough from you! You’ve done your part,” said the man as he whacked Etho over the head, knocking him out. 

Nebris whimpered, seeing Etho’s body crumple to the floor. Please don’t be dead, he thought. I’ll do anything.

“Anything, you say?”

Nebris hadn’t realized he said the last part out loud and, with determination, said,

“Yes, if you promise to not hurt him anymore and to let him go, I’ll do anything you want.”

“Would you sacrifice yourself for him?”

“Yes,” said Nebris, without hesitation. “I love him. But-”

“But?” asked the man confusedly.

“One condition, you have to tell me who you are and why you did this. Then I will come with you quietly without a fight.”

“Fine,” said the man. “You’ve got yourself a deal. My name is George Enderman.”

George Enderman? Why did that name sound so familiar to him?

“We attended school together, didn’t we, George?”

“Oh, so now you remember,” he sneered. 

“But why are you after Etho? What did he ever do to you?”

“I’m not after Etho, you ignorant fool, I was always after you. I used him because I wanted to watch you suffer and I knew you would do anything to save him, including sacrifice yourself.”

“Okay, but I’m still not understanding why…”

Enderman screamed in outrage.

“You treated me terribly in school, always acting like you were better than me, always having to have the upper hand over me.”

“So you were jealous of me? We were friends!”

“We were NOT friends, we were rivals. And it drove me wild that you thought everything was okay when it obviously was not. I wouldn’t have cared so much except it still continues even after we lost contact. You beat me out for that job. I really wanted it. And that’s when I knew I had to plan my revenge.”

“George, I didn’t intentionally beat you out for that job. I didn’t even know you were wanting it.”

“It was ALL I wanted and you took it from me! You-”

Enderman was cut off by a loud bang and a voice,

“Freeze! Hands in the air!”

Enderman, startled by the loud noise, did as he was told. Nebris, feeling relieved and grateful said,

“Boulderfist! Great timing, I-”

“Are you an absolute moron, Nebris? No wait, don’t answer that, I know you are. What were you thinking? Why didn’t you call me so we could take down this s.o.b. Together?!”

“How did you even find me here?” asked Nebris, ignoring Boulderfist.

“Pakratt didn’t trust you by yourself. He was afraid you would do something stupid. Turns out, he was right, but luckily, we had put a tracker on your car, don’t give me that look, I’m here saving your ass now, aren’t I? Pak-”

“Umm, Guude?” said Nebris.

“Don’t interrupt me, Nebris, I’m not done.”

“Guude, move!” yelled Nebris, jumping in front of him as Enderman’s gun went off. 

Enderman, surprised by Nebris taking his bullet for the cop, froze to the spot, completely entranced and confused. Boulderfist took this opportunity to cuff Enderman and have his back-up haul him off to the police car. 

“You really ARE a moron, Nebris, but thank you for doing that. You saved my life.”

“I-I really care about you, Boulderfist. I consider you a friend. And I protect my friends,” said Nebris before passing out due to the amount of blood he had lost. 

***

Everything was fuzzy and blurry when he first opened his eyes. 

“W-what? Where am I?” asked Nebris, heavily slurring his words. 

“In the hospital, Nebris. You’ve been shot.”

Nebris was having a really hard time concentrating on whatever the person was saying to him. In fact, he really couldn’t focus on anything and it was rather annoying. He felt his eyelids getting heavy and he was out again. 

The next time he awoke was several hours later and due to a large amount of pain he was now experiencing. 

“Ahh!” he screamed out in pain. 

“Nebs?” asked a very concerned, very familiar voice, wait, Etho? He was okay! Etho was okay! Nebris temporarily forgot about the pain he was experiencing to take a good look at Etho. He still had bruises all over him, but his cuts had all been cleaned up and his head bandaged. 

“Are you in pain?” Nebris asked Etho. 

“Only you, a person who just risked his life to save not only me, but also a cop, and who just got shot, would ask me that question. I’m fine, Nebris, I have a concussion, and minor pains, but mostly I’m just happy you’re alive. Detective Boulderfist told me everything that happened back at the storage room, you were very brave and, according to Boulderfist, a moron. But back to the present, are YOU in pain?

“Nah, I’m fine,” said Nebris with a grimace, trying to stay strong for Etho.

“I don’t believe you,” said Etho and then called for a nurse. “He’s in a lot of pain, could you give him something for that?”

“Yes, my dear, right away. He had been out for a while, it must have worn off.”

The nurse injected the medicine into his IV and it was pretty fast-acting. He started seeing two concerned Ethos.

“That’s funny, Etho, there’s two of you,” he giggled before finding himself slipping back into unconsciousness. 

When Nebris woke up the third time, this time he was more coherent, although still pretty loopy. He was able to stay awake longer and talk to Etho and Detective Boulderfist, who came to visit, but he often mixed up his words or just stopped talking mid-sentence, confusing his visitors.

Shortly before the nurse would inevitably shoo out Etho and Boulderfist, a third visitor joined them: Pakratt. 

“What did you do? I leave town and you go and almost get yourself killed! I’m just glad you’re okay. I came here as soon as my flight landed-it had been delayed. Etho had texted me and so I knew what happened. Nebris, you had me so scared!”

“He had all of us scared, damn guy,” said Boulderfist.

“It’s nice to see you too, Pak. I’m glad you had a nice trip!” said Nebris, cheekily grinning.

“He’s obviously getting to be himself again,” said Etho with a hint of relief in his voice although his tone was playful. 

Nebris had to spend a few more days in the hospital, much to his annoyance, but one day after a stern lecture from the doctor to not “over-exert” himself, this was also directed at Etho, who blushed, he was given clearance to return home. 

Etho and Nebris were both relieved. The past few weeks had been intense,for both of them. 

The two of them really hadn’t gotten that much time to themselves to just talk. Sure, they had talked casually about a few things, but they were looking forward to trying to get back into their routine.   
Things were peaceful for a night or two, then the nightmares started. Etho one minute would be sound asleep in Nebris’s arms and then next he would be whimpering, sometimes even screaming. Nebris always awoke during these nightmares, but Etho never mentioned them, so Nebris didn’t either. He knew what Etho was trying to do; he was trying to pretend he was okay, even though he wasn’t. He was trying to be there for Nebris during his recovery, but Nebris realized things were getting worse. It was time to confront him. 

“Etho, we need to talk about something.”

“You’re not breaking up with me, are you?” asked Etho worriedly.

“No, no, nothing like that. It’s about the nightmares.”

“N-nightmares? Are you having nightmares, Nebris?”

“No, but you are. Don’t deny it. I wake up every night because of them.”

“I’m-”

“Please don’t apologize. I didn’t intend for that to sound mean, I just think we should talk about what happened. If you don’t want to talk to me, you can always go see my therapist, DocM.”

“I don’t need a therapist, Nebris,” said Etho. 

“Okay, okay, please don’t pull away from me. I want to help you. I love you.”

Etho took a deep breath, opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. Instead, tears poured from his eyes, down his cheeks, and onto his folded arms. Nebris grabbed Etho’s hands with his own and just held them. They sat like that for a while, Nebris calmly sitting across from Etho looking at him as the tears just kept coming and coming. Finally, he began to calm down and began,

“It-it was awful, Nebris. What a terrible, cruel man. I don’t want to talk about all the different ways he hurt me because I don’t want to hurt you more with that info, but it was truly awful. I actually honestly preferred it when he just slammed my head with a rock, knocking me unconscious. It was better than listening to him think of ways to hurt and torture you, and the thought of that-well, that was worse than anything he did to me. I think he knew it too. There were times where I honestly thought I’d be better off dead, but then I remembered you and how much I love you and I knew I couldn’t die. I had to live for you and that’s what kept me going. It hurt so much that he used me to lure you straight into his trap. I’m still so sorry about that.” 

At this point, he was crying again and Nebris leaned into him, holding him. 

“I don’t blame you for what happened, okay? None of it was your fault, it was his.”

They sat quietly together, Etho in Nebris’s arms until Etho pulled back, looked at Nebris, and said,

“Thank you, Nebris. I feel better now.”

That night, there were no nightmares tormenting Etho’s mind. Instead, he dreamt of a future with Nebris, knowing that everything was going to be okay. And it was.

Having been inspired by his dream, Etho went out and bought a ring-black with a purple stone-perfect for Nebris. He proposed that night,not wanting to wait any longer for his future with Nebris to start.

Nebris, unsurprisingly, said yes.

**Author's Note:**

> originally posted on my tumblr @knoxoverstreetisbae
> 
> Dedicated to my friend Nickayla who helped determine whether it should be Nebtho or Arktho
> 
> I hope you enjoy! :D


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